The parents of a teenager who died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret sandwich that was not labelled precisely enough want repeat offenders named and shamed. Tanya and Nadim Ednan-Laperouse have spoken out after it emerged a council is not publicly naming outlets who have broken Natasha’s Law.
The “life-saving” legislation is named after Tanya and Nadim’s daughter, Natasha, who died at the age of 15 after she had a fatal reaction from eating a baguette. The teenager purchased the pre-packed item from a Pret A Manger store at Heathrow in July 2016, unaware it contained sesame seeds.
Natasha had several cardiac arrests during a flight to France and died later at a French hospital. The new law came into force in 2021 to protect people with food allergies who rely on the transparency of ingredients and food labelling for prepacked foods, Derbyshire Live reports.
It places pressure on outlets to ensure that pre-packed food is labelled so customers are fully informed about what they are purchasing. However, it has recently come to light that 16 outlets in Derby were found to have breached Natasha’s Law in the first year of operation, between October 2021 and October 2022.
The businesses were given advice and guidance as “it wasn’t necessary to pursue formal enforcement action”. But Derby City Council did not name the outlets in a Freedom of Information request. The authority said to name businesses that have not been subject to enforcement “could be unlawful” and “prejudice any future enforcement action”.
After being informed of the Derby situation by the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS), Natasha’s parents said they would like to see repeat offenders fully exposed by the city council in the future should it arise. They say “compliance is not a matter of choice”. Natasha’s mum Tanya said: “We welcome the diligent work by Derby City Council to ensure compliance with Natasha's Law. The law is a life-saver for millions of people with food allergies.
“We note the council's reluctance during the first year of the law to name those in breach. But compliance cannot be a matter of choice and any repeat offenders must be fined and publicly named. We urge Derby City Council to confirm they will do just that so those food businesses are held to account.”
Derby City Council has told the LDRS that they will honour Tanya and Nadim’s request. Businesses not complying and repeating breaches will be at risk of receiving fines.
A spokesperson for Derby City Council said: “Derby City Council is committed to ensuring businesses comply with Natasha’s Law. We will seek to take enforcement action against any business that repeatedly breaches the regulations and will publicly name those that are fined.”
